10 TV Villains You Didn't Realise Actually Won
5. Hannibal Lecter - Hannibal
The Hannibal series may have ended with the title character (Mads Mikkelsen) taking a tumble off a cliff with Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), but let's be clear - the man accomplished everything he set out to do beforehand. Plus, they're totally not dead, right?
Hannibal's entire goal was to have FBI investigator Graham come to understand him, and this was finally, unambiguously achieved in the series finale when Hannibal and Graham teamed up to kill serial killer Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage).
This is the moment that crystalised their unhinged yet intoxicatingly involving bond, and even if you assume that Hannibal died, the man clearly went out completely happy and at peace with his lot in life.
But as the post-credits scene heavily implies that both men survived, it's an even more decisive victory for Lecter. Emotionally he achieved everything he set out to do, and seemingly even lived to savour it like one of his decadent meals.